Laughing In the Dark
by Lilian Katora
Summary: Donna Noble is unsatisfied with her life in 'domestic bliss'. She struggles with living with her new husband, Shaun, and realizes she's missing something in her life. But she can't remember what she's missing...Until Jack Harkness happens to show up.
1. An Exposition of Sorts

**A/N: I've never written a Donna Noble fic before, and I've never written her character before. So, if there are any mistakes, my apologies! I just kinda had this idea for a fic, that sort of involved Donna starting to remember bits of pieces of her companion life (not that original, granted), not being satisfied with domestic bliss, because Donna never really striked me as that type of person, and along with falling for a certain Torchwood member and... I don't know. Donna and Jack. I really like the two of them together. You might say they're my OTP. Ok, yeah they are! :) Anyway, this story is...a springboard for...I don't know exactly, But I'm really excited about writing it! **

**Let me know what you guys think! **

Sometimes she remembered in her dreams.

She saw the light of stars touch her skin, the warm radiance just enough to bear. It tickled her skin, the top tingling with a wonderful sensation. She basked in the feeling, and sat there, with her legs dangling beneath her.

Sometimes, she remembered a spectacular shade of blue, and that colour seemed to induce the most interesting feelings in her dreams: wonder, hope... happiness... and yet, somehow, midst these feelings, there was a strange, sharp tang of loss. It didn't belong in her world, and yet there it was. She had no idea what she lost exactly, but she figured it must have been something damn-well important for her to feel so blue.

Blue. That colour. That bizarre colour.

She dreamt of the colour saving her, and the colour changing her. She dreamt of worlds beyond her imagination, beyond anyone's, and yet that profound sense of loss troubled her. It turned the bright, intimate dreams of adventure into something nightmarish. She had lost something. But what exactly had she lost?

She remembered...almost remembered a face. A man too skinny for comprehension... But she couldn't remember the colour of his eyes, or the colour of his hair. She could only recall a brown striped suit. And her mind burned for more.

But just as she would reach the face in her dreams, something would wake her, and she'd sit up in the middle of the night, confused. What had she been dreaming about again? it didn't matter, though. Shaun was there. Who cared about a silly dream, anyway?

* * *

><p><em>"SHAUN!"<em>

_"Yes, dear?"_

_"Oh, my God! Can you believe it? We've won the lottery!"_

_"What?"_

_"We've won the lottery!"_

_"Oh, get off, we didn't!"_

_"Shut up, dumbo. Of course we did! We're rich! Ha! I can't wait to tell Jeanine about this! Ohh, that prude will be so jealous!"_

That was the day that was supposed to change their lives. Donna was rich, happy, and had even snagged an adoring husband along the way. She was supposed to be happy, anyway.

They had moved to the countryside, but it didn't suit Donna at all. The scenery was nice. Her husband was nice. Their house was nice. God, it was gorgeous. But it was... it was... _boring. _Her life was boring.

She would never have said that directly to Shaun's face, though. Shaun loved her. Shaun flippin' adored her! And after how well her last relationship with the other one went... She couldn't remember exactly what went wrong. Things changed between the both of them, she supposed. Things always changed. Gramps liked saying that. And he was right. Things had definitely changed in the last year. She did not, whatsoever, wish to screw it up.

But the countryside just wasn't compatible with her. So after their 'big move', they packed up and returned to bustling London, where Donna was happier. Except she wasn't happy. And that was the odd bit.

The dust had settled in their home, a posh townhouse right smack in the middle of the city, with all the best shops nearby, and she still wasn't satisfied.

There must've been something in the air that unsettled her. She had a beautiful home, a beautiful husband...but something was missing.

There was this one time when one of these 'missing puzzle piece' moods hit her, and she went to her Gramps for some advice. Mum would not have been helpful at all. She would have simply told her off for being ungrateful about her sudden riches, and if she wasn't enjoying it, then _she_ would. But Gramps would listen. He always did.

"What's the matter, sweetheart? You alright?" He had asked, when she had unexpectedly swung by on her way home from purchasing groceries. Shaun and her could finally afford the expensive stuff. It was bloody fantastic!

"I... I don't know." She admitted, frowning.

Gramps smiled.

"Is it Shaun? He treatin' you right? 'cause if you ain't, I'll-"

Donna returned the smile, chuckling.

"No, gramps. No, nothing like that."

"Then what is it?"

"I...dunno, to be honest. I mean, I do... sort of. I've just been feeling... weird. And I've been having these weird dreams-"

She noticed her grandfather sucking in a breath.

"Dreams? What dreams?" He said, a little too sharply.

Donna raised a brow.

"Just dreams. You know."

"What about?"

"I...don't know." She frowned again, pursing her lips. She was a fat lot of good. She couldn't remember anything. "I can't remember."

At that, her Gramps seemed to visibly relax. His shoulders, once tense, loosened and relaxed.

"It's just... I've been feeling..." Donna sighed. Now this was the tricky part. Getting her Gramps to understand just exactly _how _she was feeling without sounding ungrateful. But he would understand. He always did. That was the part of him Donna always thought was special. He was so inherently understanding about everything. She loved her Gramps.

"I've been feeling sort of...bored, lately. I mean, Shaun's great and everything, and the house is too. God, did I mention how big that bathtub is? It's huge! Big as my friend's bum..." Donna laughed, giving a small toss of her head. That joke wasn't particularly funny, and she didn't really feel like laughing. But what else was she supposed to do?

"And... I just... Everything Shaun and I do... I don't really like. I mean, I'm not entirely sure why I married him in the first place...Oh, god, that was a horrid thing to say, wasn't it, Gramps? I'm a horrible person..." She put her face in her hands. This wasn't really turning out how she thought it'd be. Everything was just so... wrong. Why couldn't life just make some flippin' sense, already? She was tired of all this ambiguous nonsense.

A warm hand was placed over hers.

"Sweetheart..." Gramps trailed off. Sighing, he took both of her hands in his own, and once again looked into her eyes. Donna was shocked at the depth of sadness in them. It was like he understood exactly what she was going through, but...more. It was weird.

"I'm sorry about this past year. It hasn't been easy for you, but..." Donna knew her Gramps pretty well. Actually, she knew him better than anyone. Better than herself, on some occasions. So she knew when he wanted to tell her something, but was keeping it from her for her own good. Her Gramps only lied when it came to the people he loved most dear. He tried not to lie if he could help it.

"But I want you to promise me you'll give Shaun a chance. He's a good man. He loves you, and I want you to enjoy your house, and enjoy everything that lottery ticket bought you. You understand?" The fact that he was spouting utter nonsense at her didn't sneak by her (with a glaringly obvious iffy factor) unnoticed.

He wanted to tell her something different. She knew just by the way his eyes kept on growing sadder, and sadder when he mentioned money, and Shaun. But it had to be a pretty good reason for him to lie to her.

"Alright, Gramps. I'll try."

"Good, now give ol' gramps a hug, will ya..." Donna had smiled, went over to his side of the kitchen table, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Just promise me you'll be happy, okay? That's all I want to hear."

Donna nodded, wiping her eyes. They were suddenly wet with something.

"Sure, Gramps." She glanced at her watch. "Sorry, gotta run. Shaun said he'd take me out to one of those ridiculously fancy restaurants. I can't miss it..."

"Well, you'd better go, then."

Donna smiled at him one last time before she left, groceries still waiting in the car.

* * *

><p>Usually Shaun would head to work at around eight in the morning, and she would be stuck at home with nothing to do. There was cleaning, but she never really enjoyed cleaning, no matter how beneficial her mother said it was. It was an awful activity she wouldn't wish upon her worst enemies.<p>

So she would head into town. Gramps was almost always busy now, so she couldn't go to him. But she didn't mind. At least he had someone to hang around with other than mum. Donna smiled, thinking about Brian. Brian was her ramp's friend's name. He was friendly, and just as mad as him, so they got on like jam on toast.

She was glad he had someone. He had been looking a little down lately. Gramps needed someone to cheer him up.

It was raining that afternoon.

The skies were grey, and cloudy, and the drops pelted down on everyone heavily, like a water pipe permanently fixed on. But she didn't mind. Surprisingly enough, getting wet in the rain had lightened her mood than reading at home did. She had gone shopping, buying a few cute tops. She was rich. Why the hell not?

It was too bad none of her other friends were rich. At least she would've had someone to talk to, or maybe not. They probably would've opted out of walking in the rain. Donna sighed. She had just spent over two hundred pounds on clothes. Clothes. For herself. And that was nothing. She could go on another shopping spree like this the next day too, if she wanted. So why the hell wasn't she happy?

Her long, ginger hair clung to her back, as she walked the streets.

She carried an umbrella in her left hand, but it remained unopened. She was already wet. What would be the point in opening it up now?

A droplet fell onto her nose, and oddly enough, that sparked a flash of something in her mind. She stopped in her tracks in the rain, wondering what the hell had just happened. She had seen a glimpse of... blue. That same colour that was in her dreams.

Donna squinted, struggling to recall where she had seen that particular shade of blue on. A lamppost? A car?

Thunder roared above, and the flashes continued. A blue box. A brown trench coat. Converse sneakers? What was this?

Something blinding flashed in front of her.

"Donna Noble!" Someone yelled in her ear, tackling her to the ground, just as a taxi whooshed past, water flying behind in its wake.

"Oi, get off me. I'm married, you know. So if you try anything, I swear I'll have your nose off in a minute..." She grumbled, sitting up in the pavement. She glanced up at her supposed 'savior' (really, she had seen that taxi from a mile off. She would've jumped out of the way in the knick of time. She knew what she was doing) to tell him off, and fell silent.

Tall. Handsome. Chiselled chin. Dark, smoldering eyes, and fantastic hair. If she hadn't been married then, she probably would've snogged the man, he was so handsome.

"Have you gone insane? A year without the Doctor, and you resort to this?" His accent said 'American'.

_'He's foreign, gorgeous, and...he knows me?'_

Donna frowned.

"Wait. You said my name. Just before you tackled me to the ground, thanks for that by the way," she punched him, hard, in the arm ("Ow!"). "you said my name. I don't mean to offend, I mean, you're gorgeous and everything, but seriously. Who the hell are you? And who's 'the Doctor'? That some clever excuse for me to get even with you for shoving me to the ground, like a lunatic?"

The man opened his mouth to retort, but ended up closing it again. His brows furrowed together, and he looked even handsomer because of it.

"Oh, now you're all quiet. Next time, can you shove other miserable people to the ground who _aren't _carrying brand new shirts?"

Donna stood up, picking up her bags as she did so, and glared at the handsome man. He was gorgeous alright, but rude. She didn't like rude.

She glared at him before turning on her heel, and walking off in the other direction. Her walk in the rain was ruined. Utterly ruined. Well, to be fair, it wasn't much of a walk in the beginning. She was already miserable before he came blundering along, saving her life and everything. She hadn't even said thank you.

Donna cringed, pausing. She whirled right back around, and strode back to the man, who had by now, gotten to his feet.

"Sorry for that. I can be a little rude sometimes. Thanks for saving my life. Bye." Once again, she spun on her heel, and left the man looking stunned. He knew her name. That bothered her. Was she going to turn back and ask him why again? No. No, she absolutely wasn't...No...No... Damn it. She was.

"Sorry again, but... Who are you?"

Donna clutched her shopping bags, staring at Gorgeous Man.

The stunned expression wearing off, he shook his head and extended his hand.

"Oh, now _I'm _the one being rude. Sorry. Captain Jack Harkness."

"Captain?"

"If you like." He winked.

"I...Okayy... Jack. You mentioned a doctor...?" Donna wiped the rain from her face.

"Ohhh..." Jack barked a laugh that sounded entirely forced to her. "No, I was just saying if you stood there for much longer, you would need a doctor."

"No, that wasn't what you-"

"Look at that," Jack checked a wristwatch, wiping the water from its face, and widened his eyes. "I've got to be going. See you now." Jack saluted Donna before he bound across the road in the pouring rain, and out of sight.

All Donna could wonder was, _"_How the hell do people do that?"


	2. Temple's Fall

Shaun's eyes widened when he took in the sight of his wife.

"What happened to you?"

Donna scowled.

"What do ya think, you numpty? It's raining." She took off her boots, shocked at the amount of rainwater inside when she flipped it upside down. "And I'm wet."

"Hey, there's no need to take it out on me, I was just sitting here."

"Yeah, you were." Donna tied back her hair, sighing a little as she shook the water from them. She didn't know why she thought walking in the rain was such a 'dandy' idea. It was bloody stupid, that's what it was.

She noticed Shaun sprawled on their living room sofa, a suitcase propped open on his lap. _Typical. _She rolled her eyes, and pecked him on the cheek.

"Oh, is that all I get is, it?" Shaun leaned in, pulled her close. For a moment, Donna thought of resisting, but she dismissed that silly notion, and instead focused on her gorgeous husband's lips. _'Typical workaholic. Who would want to work from home?'_

...

Two hours later, when she had taken a shower, and dried off her clothes, along with putting away all her new ones in her enormous closet, she sat down on the edge of the bed she shared with Shaun. That man in the street had been...weird. What had his name been again?

"Jack Harkness..." she muttered aloud, adding, "Oh, whoops. _Captain _Jack Harkness." The one with the pretty eyes, and even prettier chin. Donna loved a man with a chin. It showed character.

But he had said her name. Right before he had apparently saved her life, she had heard him shout 'Donna Noble'. That couldn't have been possible, right? She didn't know the man. She'd never seen him before in her life. And yet... The way he had spoken to her... Something about a doctor? But he knew her. He definitely knew her. Of course, she could have just been imagining things, but she had a hunch it wasn't that. She thought of telling Shaun about the strange man, but ultimately decided against it. Shaun was a practical man. He believed in practical things, and whenever she talked about things like that, he always just assumed she was over-exhausted, or spending too much time with the telly.

Granted, she did spend most of her free time with the telly, but that was beside the point. No, the point was...

Donna shook her head.

_'I must be going mad...' _

She heard audible tapping from downstairs and knew it was Shaun on his laptop. His boss practically treated him like a slave in chains with all the workload he assigned her husband with. It was terrible.

An idea struck her. She could make him happy. Grinning wickedly, Donna disappeared into her closet, searching for that new lingerie she had bought from one of those Secret Victoria shops...

Her friends were always telling her about the place, and the type of stuff they had got there for their husbands. Most of the stories they told were hilarious, but sometimes, Donna wondered if lingerie and sex in the bedroom were all they talked about. Her last couple of visits with Carrie had been at her flat, and there Carrie had interrogated her about her and Shaun's sex life. They had just gotten back from their honeymoon, and she told Carrie everything... so the question wasn't all that unexpected. But it was bit too personal for her liking, especially with some of the questions her friend asked.

Of course, she had told Carrie off and threatened to sever the ties that bound them together in their friendship... if it was ever to be called that.

Carrie had never been a good friend. She had always gossiped with her, but had never actually listened to any of Donna's stories that didn't involve meeting that one guy from that one band, or that one television actor that the country was raving about. Sure, there had been that odd time with the Christmas star, and Carrie had filled Donna in on what had happened. A giant star had attacked London.

_"It's a hoax! You're just talking rubbish..." _she had scoffed. Carrie _had _been talking utter rubbish. The fact that there was a near alien invasion and she had missed it? It had to be a hoax. It had to be. But Carrie was the only one she could really vent to about...well, anything, and she would feed off it with an almost insect like anticipation. She liked the attention Carrie paid when she was off on one of her ramblings. But as for a real, solid friendship...

Donna threw her hands in the air when she couldn't find the lingerie. Whatever. She'd have to surprise Shaun in another way...

...

The typing was quick, almost incessant, and strangely rhythmic. Donna covered her mouth to hide her silent laughter. This was going to be brilliant!

Shaun rubbed his eyes, sighing. He stretched out his arms, yawning, before diving right back into the world his boss had forced him into.

She tiptoed her way to the couch, careful to slip on the mask before she forgot.

The floor creaked, but Shaun didn't notice. Perfect. This was her chance. Better act before he...

"OISHAUN!" She yelled, popping up from her hiding place.

Shaun yelled, jumping, and falling to the floor with a loud THUD.

A fit of laughter bubbled to the surface, and before she knew it, Donna was kneeling over, hands clutched at her sides, awful guffaws escaping her lips in one breath.

"Not. Funny. Donna." Shaun frowned, his attention averted to something on the floor beside him. Donna didn't notice.

"Your face! Ha! Oh, my god! I've never..." She laughed even harder, tears falling in slow streams down her cheeks.

"Donna..."

"Oi, lighten up." She held up her mask. She had seen it at one of the shops when she had been out earlier. It was a mask collection, and it just stood out to her. A nice, but kind of overly enthusiastic young man had encouraged her to purchase it. She hadn't caught his name, but she didn't have to. He made quite the impression-first, he reminded her of a mad professor type, with the maroon bowtie and the suspenders. His tweed coat, and black pants that didn't quite meet his ankles highlighted the 'mad' in 'mad professor'. The mask itself was a simple faux fur exaggeration of a gorilla. It wasn't particularly scary, but Donna had thought it was hilarious from the way its innocent smile jumped out at her. Shaun hated gorillas. He was terrified of them, though she could never figure out why.

Oh, well, all men had their issues. Shaun's was apparently with gorillas.

Shaun cursed under his breath. Donna saw a horrified expression about to roll away, and she immediately stopped laughing. Something was wrong.

She sighed.

"Look, Shaun, it was only a joke. No need to make a-"

"Do you see?" Shaun held up broken piece of metal, blue ivory in colour, the edges of the thing snapped in two like bamboo twigs, and just barely recognizable as her husband's laptop. The colour drained from her face.

"Shaun...I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, DONNA! SHUT UP!"

Her mouth clamped shut. Muscles tightened in her shoulder blades. Fists clenched. Eyes narrowed.

"Donna, seriously. This had everything, _everything _important of mine on it, and you... You know I hate gorillas, so why would you put on such a ridiculous mask on? What the hell were you thinking? I'm going to be sacked now because of you, and... I can't talk to you right now. You're just so..." Shaun picked up the remaining pieces of the laptop from the floor, concentrating on the task as if the world would suddenly come to an abrupt, and definite end if he didn't pick up those pieces.

Donna bristled. Had he...Had he been about to call her...

"Oi, _husband. _Do you really think I care about that stupid laptop of yours?" She still clutched the mask, and held it in her right hand. She made sure the gorilla's face was in full view of Shaun. "'Course I do! And I'm sorry for breaking it. That was an accident, I swear. But if you think you can just yell at me, and tell me to shut up, well, you better brace yourself _Shaun Temple _because if you're not careful, I might actually just change my name back to Noble. You're my husband, not my boss. So don't you dare think you can yell at me again. DON'T YOU DARE."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she wasn't having any of it.

"SHUSH. I'm not finished yet, you prat. I love you, but you don't realize how much has changed, do you? You're never home, and even when you are, you're always on that bloody laptop of yours. To be frank, I actually don't regret breaking that thing. I'm kind of glad I did. But you know what? You can sleep on the sofa tonight, 'cause you sure as hell ain't sleeping on my bed tonight, sunshine."

"Donna-"

But she was already treading up the stairs, shaking with anger. She walked over to her room (ignoring that she had called it 'hers' and not 'theirs'), quietly shutting it behind her. Once the door was closed behind her, the mask fell away to the floor, and she went and sat down by her mirror, tears in her eyes. Shaun Temple was an idiot.

She observed her reflection, and watched as the transparent, thin tears slid down her cheeks without resolve, and wondered at the pink, hot face all scrunched up. Did she feel no pain? She had just had a fight with her husband. Not her first one, mind you, but an actual proper fight. The last couple of months since the lottery win hadn't been easy. If anything, the flush of income had actually made things difficult between the two of them. Shaun was out more, and she was prone to stay at home most of the time. Shaun went out with his friends on his day off, and when she did, she rarely ever enjoyed herself fully. There was always a restraint she felt she had to keep between her girlfriends. She watched what she said, and did, and...it never felt real with them.

She hung her head, and her bright, ginger hair hung in a protective curtain around it. Things had taken off so quickly.

She had married without really knowing why, and what worried her the most about her domestic 'bliss' was that she was constantly questioning it. Nothing made sense. Not really.

Shaun was...an okay guy. Wonderful to look at, and often sweet, but when it came down to it, Donna found herself not head over heels with him. It was bizarre.

And the dreams... The haunting dreams she never could remember but had the impression that they were something important to her, disturbed her even more.

Donna exhaled a heavy sigh, letting out a sob escape. She was alone. She might as well stop trying to pretend.

Life didn't make any sense to her. Through most of it, she had a strong desire to kick and scream.


	3. Questions

The groceries were put away, and Shaun wouldn't be back for a while, so Donna decided it was time to visit her granddad again. She missed him. God, she missed him. Her heart ached when she thought of him, and how he would sit outside with his telescope, and look up at the sky as if expecting to see something other than the total blackness and faint light of stars in the distance. She had noticed that sometimes, when he thought she wasn't looking, he would close his eyes (as he did when he prayed) and mutter something under his breath. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough for her to notice, and wonder about. She meant to ask him about it.

She got into her car, turned on the ignition, and reversed out from the driveway before speeding off in her grandfather's direction.

It was a gray cast day, with the sun hiding away somewhere behind the clouds. '_Bloody typical.' _She thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

She passed a boutique shop, and a particular vase in the shop window caught her eye. She only glanced at it briefly before returning her eyes to the road again, but the image was imprinted in her mind. It was a nice vase. It'd look nice in their living room, right on the mantelpiece. _'That'd really brighten the place up.'_

Shaun had no taste whatsoever when it came to interior decorating. She didn't have a particular inclination towards it either, but at least she could manage their home into something not so…_modern. _Homes that had a cosmopolitan/modern feel to it felt cold to her. How someone could call a box with windows for walls _home _had to be utterly bonkers.

Interior decorating.

Donna laughed, shaking her head. She didn't know why it was so funny that she was thinking about decorating her house. Maybe it was just so typical a thought. Not very original. Not very creative, either.

She paused behind a black SUV when the light turned red. The vehicle was huge. It probably cost a fortune just to run around town. Whoever owned it must have been absurdly rich.

Of course, the windows were all tinted. That was the style nowadays, she supposed. Tinted windows were like a thing, weren't they?

The light turned red, and the SUV stayed put as all the other vehicles beside them pushed forward in a natural flow.

She frowned, honking her horn.

"Oi! Move it!" Still, the bloody monster of a vehicle didn't move.

The green lit traffic control light turned a bright yellow, before switching to red again. Vehicles behind her honked their horns.

"Shut it, everyone! It's not me! It's the bloody SUV in front of me!" She yelled, looking into her review mirror at an old couple glaring daggers at her from their mini cooper.

She honked again, and yet it remained as impenetrable as her granddad when he insisted on sleeping outdoors when the stars were particularly in abundance. Frustrated, she let out a deep breath, determined to get past that bloody SUV and its bloody occupants.

"MOVE IT!" She yelled again, honking repeatedly. There was a flutter of movement in the vehicle. She couldn't see much because of the tinted windows, but she swore she saw a familiar shape.

The driver, whoever it was, waved a hand in apology out the window before moving forward once the light turned green again.

_'__Finally. Some people have granddads to see, you know.'_

Donna smiled for a brief moment, before frowning again, when the SUV switched lanes and moved to her right to make a right turn onto the next street.

The driver's side window, oddly enough, wasn't tinted, and she could now see who the awful driver was. _'Him?!'_

She was shocked to find that it was the same bloke she had run into a few weeks earlier in the rain. What had he called himself again? Captain Jack…something. Captain Jack…Hartfield? No! Harkness!

Donna punched the air in triumph with one hand still on the steering wheel. Captain Jack Harkness. What the hell was he doing in an SUV? And what the hell had that pause in the road been about?

Without missing a beat, she switched on her signal lights and changed lanes, following a few feet behind the SUV. When it turned right, she did the same, and kept a careful distance behind. This Jack seemed to know who she was. She had never seen him in her life, and yet he knew who she was. He had clearly called her name out in the street when he had seen her, and once she had displayed the slightest hint of not having a clue who he was, he backed off and disappeared. But the recognition was obvious in his eyes. He definitely knew her.

So it was only natural for her to want answers. Plus, and she mentally berated herself for even thinking it, he was _flippin' gorgeous. _What she wouldn't do just to run her hands down that chest of his….

Donna blinked, and refocused on the SUV. It was now three vehicles ahead of her.

'_Bloody hell…' _She watched the dark vehicle make a left bend up ahead. She followed soon after, and saw that they had driven into an urban area that mostly housed flats, and small coffee shops. They parked their vehicle in front of one of the flats.

She passed by the vehicle, panicking slightly that he might see her. She quickly found a parking space way up ahead, and dove under her seat.

She peeked above her headrest, out the back window, and saw Jack jump out the driver's side, and two other people doing the same. A woman with long, dark hair, and some really perfect boots walked up beside Jack and said something in his ear that made him nod, all serious. The second person was a man, dressed impeccably in a black suit, looking around suspiciously at the neighbourhood. His eyes connected with hers for about a second, and Donna ducked her head. She kept low for a few more seconds before popping back up and watching the three of them walk up to a flat across the street from they were parked.

The woman knocked a few times, while the man in the suit went round back, getting something out from his jacket coat. Donna didn't see what it was. Jack, meanwhile, kept a watch on the street as the woman knocked, and knocked. Eventually, when nothing happened, she brought out a gun from the waist band of her jeans, and kicked at the door until it dropped down.

Donna gasped, covering her mouth.

'_What in bloody hell's going on? Who are these people?'_

The woman went in, gun at the ready in front of her. Jack stood outside, his expression almost…_bored _at the events occurring around him. He looked around, his eyes surveying the area, until Donna almost screamed in fright when they locked on to hers without moving on. He wasn't looking at her. Was he? No, it was probably something behind her.

She stayed still, afraid to move an inch. But what if he was looking at her? If he saw her….what would happen to her?

Jack grinned, and waved. She craned her neck around to see what he was waving at, but there wasn't a person in sight behind her. She gulped. He was looking at _her._

Jack kept waving, and grinning. Donna watched him, and suddenly she gritted her teeth in irritation. Oh, he thought he could wink at her and expect her to be scared? Not on her life. So she waved back, returning the grin. Jack made a kissing motion with his lips, and 'sent it off' to her, by catching it in his hands, and tossing it in her direction. She pretended to catch it, and hold it to her chest.

_'__Whoever this supposed Captain is… he's a real flirt. Not that I mind or anything… But why isn't he chasing after me?'_

_'__I caught his….co-workers? Well, whatever they are, they're carrying around guns.' _Donna shifted in her seat.

_'__They probably work for the government.'_

Donna nodded to herself. They probably did work the government. That explained the guns… and the unnecessarily huge SUV.

Jack looked behind him, and she saw his mouth open as he called out to the people inside. He waited a few seconds, nodded, and started in her direction. She opened her eyes wide, watching him as he bounded across the street, and onto her side. His good-natured grin was still in place, but that didn't mean Donna was at ease about it. She hurried, and grabbed her keys from her pocket, fumbling for the right key. Shaun was always paranoid someone would break in. A couple months back there had been a few robberies, but nothing serious had been taken-just a few televisions, and a laptop.

But he still persisted in getting the best alarm system for their home, and just a month ago, he had it installed.

"_Nothing to worry about now, love." _They had separate keys for all the doors, and cabinets in their home, and it was ridiculous because they had purchased house, which of course, had hundreds of doors, and thousands of cabinets. She understood why he was paranoid, but still. That was a lot of keys, and a lot of trouble he would have to deal with when he got home. Never mind the possibility of losing his keys, and not being able to get in because he always insisted on locking the doors.

"Shit." She had dropped the keys, and now they had somehow fell under her seat. She bent over, hitting her forehead on the steering wheel. "Ow."

There was a soft tap on her window. She inwardly cringed. What the hell had she been thinking, following that weird man and his ridiculously enormous SUV?

Slowly, she sat up, and peered out the glass window. Jack was there, motioning for her to lower it.

She didn't know why she did exactly, but she had already followed him, and there was no going back, not really, but she did as he suggested and lowered her window.

"Hi," she mumbled.

"Donna!" Jack laughed, shaking his head. "Good to see you again. Sorry about the road block. My team and I had been tracing a signal, and the spot we were in was a particular hotspot. Although next time, I think you should probably be more discreet about following me and my team."

"You knew I was following you?"

"Oh, don't pretend you didn't know I knew!" Jack barked another laugh, and this time, he waved his hand out to her. "Come on, don't be shy. When was the last time we saw each other? Oh, right. When you pretended not to know me. I'm guessing there's a reason, though."

As a temp, Donna was accustomed to being in a situation where she was the only one who _didn't _have all the inside info. She was used to being treated like she did, and that she was in the know, when she really wasn't. Years of pretending to know what everybody else did had given her a talent for knowing something she didn't know. That was the thing with temps-after all the initial introduction, you were expected to know everything, about everyone.

So she thought of this mad situation as just another situation for her Super Temp powers.

"Oh, there was!" Donna put on a smile, and opened her car door, momentarily forgetting about her keys. "It's good to see you again, too."

"I knew you were in there somewhere!" Once she stepped out, he wrapped both his arms around her in a bear hug. She tensed for the briefest second, before relaxing, and reciprocating his actions. Whoever this was, he knew her. The trouble was, why the hell didn't she _know him?_

There were too many questions, and was grasping at straws if she thought she would be getting any answers from those bizarre dreams of hers. Maybe Jack could answer hers.

Jack rubbed the small of her back in the embrace. It was oddly soothing.

"How've you been? I mean, what happened after, you know, everything?" Jack pulled away, surprising Donna. She had wanted to hold on for a little longer.

"Uh, I've been good. I married!" Donna held up her right hand, and showed off her wedding band. It was a simple, gold band with no engravings etched on it. But the style suited her just fine.

"You married? That's amazing!" He touched the wedding band, and held her hand in his. She had just told him she was married…and his response was to hold her hand? She smiled. She was right. He w_as _a flirt. "When did you get hitched?"

"A couple months ago, actually. It was a small wedding, with close family and friends."

Jack pouted, hand still over hers.

"And you didn't invite me?"

Donna opened her mouth to speak, but found she had nothing.

"I, well, you see, Oh sod it…."

"Relax, I was just teasing. I know-you didn't want to have to explain all your Tardis buddies to your other friends, right?"

Donna nodded, visibly relaxing.

"Yes! Exactly!" Tardis? What the bloody hell was a Tardis? "Otherwise, I would've invited everyone."

"Well, I'm happy for you. Congratulations." Jack smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling, but Donna noticed something that struck her as curious. Jack was saying he was happy, and he was certainly acting like he was-but his eyes told her a different story. Her granddad was always saying that if she wanted to know a person, all she would have to do is gaze in to their eyes, and she would know all she needed to know. So far, he had been right.

Jack, if she didn't know any better, was disappointed to hear the news of her nuptials. Why? Was he an old flame of hers?

"Oh, thanks. Um…." Donna ignored the nervous flutter in her stomach when Jack rubbed the area where her wedding band was. She was married. Shaun loved her. "So…what are you and your team up to?"

"Well, we're capturing this weevil that broke into someone's home. It's the first case we've heard of. Weevil's don't usually stray this far so early in the day."

"Weevil?" Early? It was three o'clock in the afternoon.

"Right." He gestured inside the house, where she heard the sound of a woman yelling at someone else to "hurry up, and knock out the bloody thing already." She sounded welsh.

"Weevil's are these creatures that live in the sewers. They usually only come out at night, and when the streets are empty. They normally don't stray this far. But I say _normal…_" He shook his head, smiling a little.

"What do you mean?" She was having trouble following him. He was saying-if she was hearing correctly-that there were sewer creatures in London? First it was the mention of a Tardis, and now it was this? How daft was he?

"Well, they usually stay around the Cardiff area. But I've never seen this one so far….It's strange."

"We've dealt with stranger things…" It was a shot in the dark, but she had a feeling that whoever this Jack character was, he had dealt with far more bizarre things than weevils. Since he knew her, she guessed that she had seen some strange things herself. The one question, well the one question midst a tsunami of questions, that kept creeping up was: did she forget something? Jack knew her. That much was obvious. So why didn't she know him?

"Yeah, we have. But…Did I tell you about the base I have in Cardiff?"

Donna stammered, "Well, I-I should think so. I mean, I don't remember all the details, so you'll have to excuse me…"

"Are you alright, Donna?"

"Yeah," she waved him off. "'Course I'm fine. It's just…" _Quick. Think of a lie. "_The married life wasn't quite what I expected it to be, that's all, and there's been no one to talk to about it."

Jack nodded in understanding.

"Ah. Yes, marriage. They say the first year is always the hardest."

Donna managed a brief smile. So it was the truth. Sort of. Married life hadn't been quite what she pictured in her head-with the wedding, and the honeymoon, and a perfect domestic life where she would go shopping, and visit her friends. Maybe visit her granddad if he wasn't already busy with his new friend, Brian… Shaun of course would adore her, and would do anything for her. But none of that happened in the exact way she had wanted it to be. She was an idiot for thinking it would be that way, but still… she couldn't help it.

And now she was standing on the sidewalk in some urban area of town, holding hands with a stranger who apparently she was friends with.

'_What a weird mornin'._

"They were bloody right, then, to say it." She mumbled under her breath.

"Hey, it's okay. I was married once, and it wasn't easy for me either."

"You were married?" It was difficult to believe such a handsome man could actually be tied down to someone. He seemed more like the…flirting type than a married one.

"You don't have to say it with _that _much shock."

"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. But when?" Maybe a few more details about him would help her get her answers.

Jack had this faraway look about him then, giving Donna the impression that he had traveled back in time, back into a distant past even she could not reach.

"A lifetime ago."

"Cryptic are we?" she teased, letting go of his hand. She started towards her vehicle.

"Where are you going?" Jack crossed his arms. "I thought we were just getting reacquainted."

"We are, we are…. But I've got things to do, people to see."

"Timelords to boss around?" He smirked. Timelord? How pretentious.

"Uh, yeah. Exactly. I'll see you around."

"Hold up." Jack grabbed her hand again, stopping her midway to her car. "A few weeks back you pretended not to know me. Why? What's going on, Donna?"

The trick with lying was that you couldn't let your lies get too big. Once you added one too many details, it became harder to remember them all. But Jack had given her enough material to work with.

Jack might have been gorgeous, but she wasn't about to forget the fact they carried guns. Whoever they worked for, she was downright certain was dangerous. What troubled her further was that she knew one of them! She really didn't need to get herself into any of that-at least not today.

She had followed him out of curiosity, really, and it was time to get back to the real world.

"Timelord stuff." She grinned, patting his cheek gently before opening her car door. "I can't say."

"The Doctor's got you sworn under an act of secrecy, does he?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Now he was mentioning a doctor? Donna frowned, remembering something vague about her dreams. She could barely recollect last night's, but she did recall one thing: she remembered sounding angry at someone, some sort of doctor, and then slapping him. Dreams weren't really her area, though. That could have meant nothing, though her gut told her otherwise.

"Well, let him know I said hi unless… have you stopped travelling? You said you were married, and had no one to talk to. The Doctor's your best mate. Besides, we both know the Doctor. He doesn't do married couples." Jack leant against her car. Back at the flat, the two people she had seen Jack with earlier stumbled out, both heaving.

Donna pursed her lips. Best mate?

"We got him detained, Jack!" The man yelled, stowing away his gun.

Jack gave them a thumbs up, yelling back, "Perfect! Put him in the trunk."

The woman threw her hands up in the air.

"Will he even _fit? _We've got a nice car, but we don't have that big a trunk."

Jack grinned. "Sure we do. Remember the naked Christmas party?"

Donna raised a brow. Naked Christmas party?

"Yeah, but Ianto's smaller than the weevil. No offense."

The man sighed. "None taken."

"Is that Donna?" The woman peered at Donna, and smiled brightly. "It is!"

Donna stood by and watched as the woman ran across the street, the smile still glued to her face, and push past Jack.

"Why didn't you tell me she stopped by to say hi?"

Jack shrugged.

"I wanted her all to myself. Is that so wrong?"

The woman punched him in the arm, laughing.

"Yes, it is. It's good to see you, Donna!" She tugged Donna forward in a tight hug. _Who else do I know, and don't know? This is getting ridiculous._

"Oh, yeah, it's good to see you again, too! How long has it been?" This was always a safe question to ask. People asked that all the time whenever they missed each other. Perfectly normal.

"Gosh, since the end of the world?"

Jack rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't the end of the world, Gwen." _Gwen. _That was her name. Donna smiled, showing her teeth.

"Are you kidding me? With daleks flying about?" Daleks. What were daleks? Some sort of aircraft?

"Well…I suppose it was." Jack gave Donna a broad grin, and put an arm around her shoulder. '_Not that I mind or anything, but does this bloke have no sense of personal space?'_

"But we never would have made it out alive without Donna. Brilliant Donna."

Now this was the uncomfortable part. Whoever these people were, they were obviously under the delusion she was some sort of brilliant savior. They were wrong. They were wrong, and she was leaving. She had had her fill of answers for the day.

"Right. Nice to see you again. Gwen. But I've got to dash…I've got something important to do…something that involves Time lord stuff." She nodded, and fixed them with her best academy award-winning smile, getting into her car as she did so.

"So you still travel with him, then?" Gwen asked, folding her arms across her chest.

_With who?_

_"_Yeah."

"Has he…changed?" Jack's voice had grown noticeably softer.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Has he changed?"

Donna bit her lip. This was starting to get away from her control. She couldn't remember why she had followed Jack Harkness and his government team in the first place. Curiosity? This was silly. She needed to get back to Shaun, not follow around a bunch of strangers in a SUV. It didn't matter if they knew her, or thought of her as _brilliant. _Nope. That didn't matter at all. Or even the fact that this woman, this Gwen, actually seemed to like her for some reason.

"I..." Donna didn't how to respond. Change? Everyone changed in life, didn't they? What was this guy on about?

"Oh, god," Jack sighed into his hands, mistaking her hesitation for an answer. "He did, didn't he? Again! I knew there was a reason there was no word of him for the past year. Tell me, is he still the Doctor?"

Donna mentally slapped herself for the corner she had walked herself into.

"Right. He's changed. He's still the Doctor…of course. But everyone changes, right? I mean, I've changed…" A nervous laugh bubbled to the surface.

Jack shook his head.

"Is he ginger?"

That threw her off.

"Sorry?"

"Is he ginger?"

"Yes." God, she should have left by now. All she was doing was dawdling. In the distance, she heard the distinct sounds of a body being dragged on the cement, and someone huffing with the effort of moving it. Donna glanced at the man, and her eyes widened. The body he was dragging looked…horrifying. It looked like something straight out of a horror film, with its bared teeth, and tiny eyes. The 'weevil' was suited in dark boiler outfit, and was about the same height as the average man, although she couldn't tell for sure given that he was lying still on the ground whilst a man dressed too impeccably for the government grabbed on to his lapels, and pulled.

The man hit a bump in the cement, and swore under his breath. He let go of the body, and called out to Jack, "Jack! I can't do this by myself!"

"Use your muscles, Ianto! I've seen them in our games of naked hide and seek." Naked hide and seek, now? She had been right. Jack Harkness was a flirt.

"Seriously, Jack…"

"All right, all right." Jack leaned in close to Donna, and gave her a small, but firm peck on the cheek. She blushed immediately afterwards, but attempted to hide it by ignoring the impish expression he was giving her.

"I'll let you to catch up. It was good to see you again, Miss Noble." Here, he winked. "You should stop by our hub in Cardiff sometime. Say hi to the Doctor for me? God knows what this regeneration is like." He waved, before crossing the street, grabbing the weevil's feet (?) while Ianto carried the head and arms.

"So," Gwen faced Donna.

"So," she quipped back, searching for her keys.

"You have the hots for Jack, don't you?"

"What?" Donna blurted, shocked. She had just witnessed an unconscious creature that apparently inhabited the sewers of Cardiff dragged into a black SUV, and Jack's girlfriend (she was too pretty not to be) was asking her if she had the hots for Jack?

"You do, don't you? I remember Jack telling me about you. You liked to hug almost as much as him!" Gwen chuckled softly. "Relax, I'm not going to tell. I had, I mean, felt the same way about him at one point, but…" She held up her right hand, and Donna was surprised to find a wedding band on her ring finger.

"You're married."

"As are you." Donna examined her own display of marriage, and sighed. She was. She couldn't be flirting with a stranger. But then again, he wasn't really a stranger, was he? He knew her. How….she had to figure out…and these people seemed to know her… The past couple of months had her assaulted with outlandish dreams filled with peculiar things she couldn't even remember the next morning, except having a nasty headache, and a vague impression she was missing something important.

"Look, all I'm sayin' is maybe…give it a thought before you act on anything, okay?" Gwen, though Donna didn't have a clue who she was, was sweet enough, and considerate. The expression behind her dark eyes conveyed a genuine compassion Donna wasn't used to seeing, except in her Gramps.

"Okay. Listen, I've got to run-"

"Travelling with the Doctor has a lot of running, I'm guessing."

Again with this Doctor fellow! Who was he?

"Yeah, it does, and I was thinking… the next time I stop by Cardiff, do you think I can have that tour of that hub of yours?"

Gwen beamed.

"'Course! Now go…I don't know the Doctor very well, but I do know he's not one for waiting."

Donna waved to Gwen, and bent over for her keys. Her hand slipped over something sharp and metal. _'Aha!' _She closed her hand around the keys/

"Ow," she muttered when she hit her forehead on the steering wheel. Again.

She turned on the ignition, checked to see if the roads were clear, and pulled out from her parking space, before driving off to deal with the odd turn of events. Jack Harkness. A woman named Gwen. Ianto… Names she could use for her research.

Donna smiled, and headed in the same direction she had been heading to earlier that afternoon: to gramps.


	4. Nightmare

_She was alone in a brightly lit room. The walls seemed to be made of coral-the structure of the supporting frames certainly indicated that. Their fragile-like outer shells towered above her, and she craned her neck to look up, where she saw a miscellaneous assortment of wires suspended above like Christmas lights. _

_There was a warm glow about the place that made her feel as if she were home. _

_But she wasn't home then, though. Instead, she seemed to be worried about something…or someone? She couldn't tell. Her heart frantically beat against her rib cage, gravity more of a background character than an actual force. _

_"__Doctor?" She whispered, head swiveling around in search of the skinny alien she had grown to love. "Doctor? What's happening?"_

_A voice-a familiar, erratically charged voice sounded from one of the screens at the….console? The somewhat alarming structure centered in the middle of the room with a long, transparent tube that stretched all the way to the endless ceiling, was made of wires, screens, levers, and buttons. There was a keyboard at one point, and a tiny round spiked ball that appeared next to it, spinning like a top. _

_"__Donna…. You have to get out of there."_

_"__But how? Where the hell are you?" She told off the man in the screen. He had a crest of brown hair that appeared in all directions atop his head, and eyebrows that seemed to have a life of their brown. He had chocolate-y brown eyes that on any other person she would have normally swooned for, and from what she could make of his lean shoulders-this alien was a skinny alien. _

_His eyes connected with hers, and pleaded with her to leave. _

_"__Donna, I'm serious."_

_"__So am I, spaceman."_

_"__The place is going to burn, and the Tardis can only stand so much of the pressure before she succumbs to it. The console room is going to be," he held up his hands on a small ball before motioning a 'blowing up' movement. "BOOM. Blown up. You have to get out of there. Now!"_

_"__But how do I find you again?"_

_"__Don't worry about that-"the man was now appearing more frantic by the second. He ran a hand through his hair, and closed his eyes for a brief moment. "JUST. GET. OUT. OF. THERE."_

_She nodded. She trusted the Doctor. He would find her…That is if she didn't get blown to smithereens first. _

_Her body jerked unexpectedly when the room shook. The walls with the bizarre round circles embedded in them violently vibrated. Any second now. _

_She propelled herself forward toward the doors, dashing like mad man told he'd be taken to an asylum. _

_Any second now…any second now… _

_She had just pushed the doors opened when she felt the room behind her push her forward with an infinite amount of force that was enough to make her go flying in the air. _

_The air rushed around her body-her hair wildly throwing itself everywhere. _

_Less than a second later, before she could fully process what was happening, she felt rather than heard her head hit something hard and make an almost inaudible crack. Everything was black. Everything was darkness-_

Donna jerked awake, gasping desperately for oxygen. Her lungs were constricted, the long ginger hair her Gramps was always boasting about was sticking unpleasantly to her forehead, and her chest kept heaving up and down. She had had a nightmare.

She took in her bearings, and saw with an enormous flood of relief, that she was back in her bed. Someone shifted beside her, and she looked down to find her husband, Shaun, face down in his pillow.

_'__It was only a dream…A frighteningly realistic dream…But a dream nonetheless.'_

Slowly, she relaxed. Her lungs expanded, welcoming the air that met them. She could finally breathe.

She laid back down again, kicking away the twisted up sheets.

"What the hell was that?" She muttered to herself. A vivid array of images flashed in her mind. The room that glowed yellow. The wires. The screen. The man. What had she called him in the dream? Doctor?

Why had she been dreaming about a doctor? Donna frowned. Some sort of instinct told her it hadn't been a doctor she had been dreaming about-at least, not of the variety she was accustomed to.

Doctor…She drew up the mental figure of the man, and studied it. She was never good at remembering her dreams. They almost always ended up dissipating before she could really analyze them. She knew she had only a matter of time before this one did the same.

The man was skinny. Why that bothered her so much was a mystery. But the enigma behind the mystery was her familiarity with the man's skinniness and the annoyance at it. She could have sworn she had told the man off about his weight at some point…

Donna shook away the thought. Her head was starting to ache. She needed to think of something else if she was planning on waking up early with Shaun the next morning.

She closed her eyes, feigned sleep, in the hopes actual sleep would visit her.

Minutes ticked by. Shaun shifted in his sleep again. Some rowdy teenagers were howling outside, up their stupid games as usual.

She rolled onto her side, thinking that would help. Chrissy had mentioned something about sleeping on your side reducing wrinkles or whatnot the last time she had went over for a visit. She was old enough as it is-she didn't have to have it on display to the world.

Someone, or rather something was scratching at her window. Donna let out an exasperated breath when she observed that it was just the edge of a tree branch sticking out. She slumped back on to the pillow.

The dull throb that had begun a few minutes ago had intensified into a quiet roar. The walls of her skull felt like they were being pounded against, as if someone were punching them from the inside.

She blinked, and winced.

Spots of black danced in her vision.

_'__The Doctor…have to…get the…Doctor…he can...' _Donna screamed when what felt like a blast to her head overcame her, igniting a series of…memories?

_"__Some people just can't take it."_

_She beamed. "And some people can. So then. Tardis…" _

_"__Oi. Don't get clever in latin!...Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flying around with in outer space but you're not telling me to shut up."_

_"__She's engaged, you prawn."_

_"__Never mind Planet Zog. A party in the nineteen twenties, that's more like it!"_

_"__Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end…."_

_The man she had seen earlier in her dream gave her look. _

_"__You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size."_

Donna thrashed around, clutching her head. She knew those words, like Tardis, and sonic screwdriver. She knew who the Doctor was, because she remembered. Where was he? Where…

"Donna!" Someone grasped her arm. Donna's eyes flew open to reveal a concerned Shaun beside her.

"Shaun…" Tears in her eyes, she reached out to him, and just when she touched his hand, the flashes stopped.

She whispered his name, confusion setting in.

"Where are you? Doctor…"

Suddenly, her eyes were lead weights, unable to keep open.

"Donna, sweetheart…Are you alr…." Her husband faded in front of her, along with everything else.

…

When she awoke, she found herself in dull room with whitewashed walls, plain curtains beside her.

Blearily, she realized she was in a hospital room. Hospital. Donna snapped to attention, and looked on in horror at the tubes connected to her. There was one that was taped to her arm that shot a sliver of pain up her arm when she moved.

She clutched at her clothes, gasping when she saw the light blue cloth. A nightgown. She was in a bloody nightgown.

An erratic beeping noise sounded to her left. She followed the noise with her eyes until she saw that she was connected to a heart monitor, and apparently, her heart was going mad.

_'__I need to get out of here.'_

Shaun was draped over a chair on her right side, as close as he could get to the bed as possible. His body fit uncomfortably in the chair, neck craned at an odd angle, and his legs stretching out from beneath him. He snored.

"Shaun!" She hissed. No movement. "Shaun! I need you! Would you wake up already, you useless prune…" She grabbed one of the pillows behind her, ignoring the uncomfortably throb where the tube was connected, and hit him with it.

Shaun bolted upright, the chair tipping over.

"Donna?" He said before he crashed into the floor.

Donna smirked, rolling her eyes.

"Clumsy moron."

Shaun scrambled to his feet. He set the chair back into its normal upright position, and leaned in close to her.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

"Bloody terrified."

"Should I get the doctor…." Something in Donna seemed to come alive when she heard that word.

"No! I don't need a doctor," She had an odd sense of wrongness when she heard herself say that sentence. "Shaun….You brought me to a _hospital. _Are you mad?!" She hit him with the pillow again. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Are you kidding?! You were thrashing in your sleep last night, screaming at the top of your lungs about a doctor."

Donna scoffed. "Bad dream. I'm over it."

"You passed out soon afterwards."

"Over-exhaustion. Now, can you get me the hell out of here?" She swung her legs to the edge of the bed, and scooted herself forward. Shaun grabbed her arm, and stopped her.

He looked angry now.

"You called for a doctor. I brought you here because you wanted a doctor…"

_'__Not that kind of Doctor, you moron.' _She thought before she could register what it meant. She frowned.

"Right, you were trying to help. Thanks, husband, but as you can see, that was stupid, and waste of your time. I'm fine!"

Now she was getting angry. Nobody brought her to a hospital without her consent. Nobody.

"What the hell is it with you and hospitals?" Shaun muttered, releasing her.

Donna responded, "Anyone who likes to have tubes and needles stuck into their arm, and have a bunch of strangers watch over you obviously has a little too much going in in here." She tapped her temple with her forefinger. "I'm not stickin' around just so some bloke in a white coat can tell me what I already know."

"Ah, I see that you're awake now, Miss Noble." A smooth, professional voice caught Donna's attention.

A woman, in her late thirties or so, with long brown hair and a kind smile, stood at the foot of Donna's bed with a clipboard in hand.

"Oh," Donna mumbled, fixing Shaun a steely glare. "Well, yes. I am. Good mornin'."

The woman's chuckle was faint, disappearing as quickly as it came. It reminded Donna of the sweets she had used to stow away in the kitchen cupboard at home. Within an hour, they were always gone. It didn't take her long to figure out who-mum hated sweets. But gramps… He couldn't get enough of them. Most of her childhood had been running away in buses, and reprimanded her grandfather on respecting someone else's sweets.

"It's the afternoon, Miss Temple."

Donna sighed.

"Oi. Just call me Donna. Miss Temple is usually reserve for Shaun's mum." Shaun snorted. "Did you just say 'afternoon'?"

"Yes, I did." The woman glanced down the clipboard and pursed her lips. "It seems you slept through most of the day."

Donna read the small, silver name tag that was attached to the woman's left upper pocket. Dr. Miranda Tate.

"Dr. Tate, sleeping through most of the day isn't something that's foreign to me. I'm fine." She noticed Shaun rubbing his eyes. Had he stayed up most of the night? "My husband's just a little overprotective, emphasis on _over. _I was having a nightmare, apparently, and-"

"Apparently? You don't remember it?" Donna shook her head. Miranda nodded, taking out a pen from her pocket, clicking it once, before jotting down a note in the clipboard.

"What are you doing?"

"Making note of this. What do you remember exactly last night?"

Shaun cut in, then. "I woke up to Donna screaming her head off-blimey you're loud!-and-"

Miranda interrupted him.

"No, no, I wasn't asking you, Mr. Temple. I was asking Donna."

"Look, I told you. I'm fine. I'm absolutely-"

"You undoubtedly are, Donna, but this is just a few follow up questions."

"To what?"

"To the story your husband told me when he brought you in."

Donna turned to Shaun, bewildered.

"How exactly did you bring me in, anyway? I'm not exactly the lightest person to go carryin' around."

Shaun stared at her as if she had just sprouted a horn on her forehead.

"I didn't. You walked in yourself, after I woke you up again."

"I came in myself?" This was...confusing. "What happened exactly? And don't just summarize like you usually do. Put in some details."

Shaun shrugged. "Alright-and by the way, I don't always summarize. Last night, you were having a nightmare, I think, because you kept thrashing around in the bed, clutching your head. I touched your arm, and you stopped, and called out for a doctor before you passed out. I woke you up about a minute later, and you were mumbling on about a Tardis." He took in a breath before slowly exhaling. "What's a Tardis, Donna?"

Tardis? There was that word again, the one Jack kept using when she chatted with him the other day. He had said something about 'Tardis buddies' as if they were all part of some secret club. Who knew? Maybe they were. Maybe she had been part of their secret government club involving 'weevils' (she never saw the sewer system in the sae light again) and because of some sort of event, they had to wipe her mind about the club for her own protection, and others and….

Donna let out a loud laugh, shaking her head. Both Miranda and Shaun wore the same puzzled expression.

Who was she kidding? The idea itself was stupid. She wasn't in a James Bond film, for cryin' out loud!

"I have no bloody idea what a Tardis is." She continued to laugh for a solid minute, her giggles the only sound in the room.

After a while, she calmed down some, wiping away at a tear.

"Sorry. Ask your follow up questions."

Miranda nodded uncertainly. "Right, then. Miss…Donna, you don't remember any of what happened last night?"

"No. Why? Is my brain damaged? Is that what you're tryin' to tell me?" Worry etched her normally level voice to go up a pitch.

"No, that's not what I was saying at all, Donna. We did a couple of MRI's and the activity in your brain appears to be normal. I'm only asking because it's not usual for a patient to exhibit symptoms of amnesia after a nightmare."

"Amnesia?"

"Temporary, or permanent memory loss-"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Oi, miss, I know what amnesia is, alright? I just… Shaun?"

"Hmm?" He looked at her expectantly.

"Could you go and fetch something to eat? I'm starving."

"Sure thing, love." He pressed his lips to her forehead before leaving the room. Donna peered out the door to make sure he was gone. She saw him walk down the hallway, and disappear around a corner.

She nodded to herself, and nodded purposefully at Miranda.

"Dr. Tate. I didn't want to say this in front of Shaun because...well..." Where were they in their relationship, anyway? Shaun seemed to think everything was fine, but she wasn't so sure. There had been a couple times in the last week that she had doubted the longevity of their marriage. Those were some pretty dark moments, even for her.

"We're not exactly in a good place right now."

Miranda tilted her head, and let the words sink. A second or so of mulling something over, she went out into the hallway. Donna, curious, watched as Miranda called over a nurse, whispering something intently to her.

Donna could just barely make out the voices.

"When Mr. Temple-this patient's husband-" she gestured in the direction of Donna's room. "-comes back, don't let him in. I need to have a word with his wife about something important."

_Uh-oh. _Something or other was awry.

'_I knew it. I bloody knew it! That woman is going to counsel me on marriage, and how I shouldn't give up on it. Basically, rubbish. This is why I hate hospitals...The doctors here think they're helpin', but are they re-'_

The soft click of the door closing penetrated Donna's thoughts.

"Donna. What were you saying before I rudely stepped away?"

She glared at Miranda's soft brown eyes.

"Oi, miss. Whatever female you think I am, you're wrong. I don't care for the opinion of others, and I certainly don't care what some stranger has to say about the state of my marriage. So you can go stick your judgments right up your-"

Miranda looked aghast.

"Miss Temple, please! I don't care about the state of your marriage. I really don't. If you and your husband have issues, well, that's yours to deal with, or a therapist's for that matter, but not mine. So you can go stick _your _judgments right up _your_..." She paused for breath, and continued. "You can just sod off with your own judgments about the type of doctor you think I am. I'm here to do my job-and that is to care for my patient. Now, what were you telling me before I stepped away to make sure your husband wouldn't interrupt us, as you were clearly worried about when you sent him away?"

Donna opened her mouth in awe. In all her life, she had never met a doctor so astoundingly real, and polite, and _considerate _for that matter, she thought she would cry at the shock of it if nothing else.

"Miss Temple?"

"Oh, sorry. Can I just say..." Donna grinned at Miranda. "You're probably the first doctor in my life to ever actually stay out of my business?" Again, there was something about that sentence that didn't feel right.

"Well, if it's not medically relevant than I try to stay out of the patient's personal life as much as possible."

"Tryin' to distance yourself in case the patient ever dies, eh?" Before Miranda could respond, Donna carried on. "Relax. I won't be dyin' any time soon. But...What I didn't want to tell Shaun is that...I'm not quite sure if it was nightmare, to be honest."

Miranda's eyes widened.

"Are you sure? You did just admit you didn't remember a thing."

"Yeah..."Donna fiddled with the tube in her arm, wincing at the small pain. "About that... It's kind of common for me to not remember my dreams."

Miranda smiled. "Well, I'd say it's a common symptom of the disease of humanity. Dreams are quick to disappear if we don't write them down."

"Disease of humanity..." The corners of her mouth lifted in an amused grin. "You remind me of this bloke I knew."

"Who?"

The smile on her face grew until her whole face was aglow in a warm memory.

"He was the kindest man I ever knew...and the cleverest. Although he could be real thick at times..." A sense of nostalgia, and a sharp prick of pensiveness came over her. The bloke she knew...he was...amazing. He prattled on too long sometimes, and often spoke so fast she almost never knew what he was saying exactly...but he was her best mate.

It was funny...she found it extremely difficult to conjure an image of him in her mind. The more she strained to remember, the more the fuzziness in her head that surrounded the man clouded over.

"Who was he?"

It felt like a mental elastic band had been stretched in her head, and had now snapped back into its original form.

"Hmm?"

"The bloke you used to know."

"What bloke?" Donna frowned at Miranda. This doctor was a weird one.

"The one you were just..." Miranda recognized the blank expression on Donna's face, and stopped talking. She wrote another note in the clipboard.

When she finished the last word with a flourish of her pen, she clicked it again, and stowed it away in her pocket.

"Right. Must've been another patient. So...you were about to explain to me about your lack of dream recollection."

Donna nodded carefully before continuing.

"I didn't want to say this in front of Shaun because he'd just worry, and y'know, we're not in the best time in our marriage, but… I've been having this weird sense that I'm missing something. And I'm not just talkin' about some kind of existential nonsense, or whatever. Or maybe I am. I don't know. But for the last couple of months, actually right after our honeymoon, I've been having trouble remembering my dreams. I tried writin' them down, but by the time I'd reach for pen and some paper…" Donna shrugged. "I just can't remember a thing."

"Interesting…And when was your honeymoon?"

Donna thought back to vivid memories of warm sand, and a glowing sun.

"Um… It was about….seven months ago. Yeah. Seven months."

"And after that you couldn't recall any detail in your dreams?"

"No. The only thing that I can remember is this sense that…well, like I said, a weird feeling like I'm missing somethin'. Or, sometimes, I wake up feeling sad. Like I'm grieving over somebody…"

Miranda's brows furrowed in concentration.

"Well, Donna, I don't know what to say. I mean, it appears your subconscious is trying to tell you something…even trying to get you to remember something you've forgotten. If I was better in this particular field, I'd say you've suffered from a massive case of amnesia. But…"

Donna's heart raced. There was a but?

"But…." Miranda sighed. "When we examined your brain for any signs of neural damage, or anything that would attribute the nightmare you had before your husband brought you in, we found nothing. There was no sign of any trauma, or damage to any neural pathways."

"You found nothing?"

Miranda shook her head.

"I'm afraid not."

"But…that's good news, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but it doesn't-"

"Good enough for me. When can I be discharged?"

"Donna, whatever happened to you last night, I have no explanation. Medically, you're fine. Healthy. But I think this might be a psychological-"

Donna held up her hand, shushing her. Hospitals. If there was nothing wrong with you medically, then it must've been a 'psychological' problem. She shuddered at the thought of having to go through the process again.

"I'm just gonna stop you right there. You said I was healthy, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing. If I'm fine medically, then I'll be okay. The dreams…I was just kidding about those. I can remember my dreams. When can I be discharged?"

Miranda opened her mouth as if to protest, but she seemed to notice the determination in Donna's glare because she sighed, and nodded.

"Right now, if you want."

"YES! Yes! I want! Please! Go get the papers."

"Alright. I'll be right back."

Miranda opened the door, exited, and closed it again. The room was more quiet with just Donna there, save for the sound of the monitors beside her, and the low hum of the a/c vents.

As she sat there, fiddling with her thumbs absentmindedly, she couldn't help but think how strange her lack of memory was. She had brought herself into the hospital, fully conscious? That didn't make any sense. She'd have remembered that…wouldn't she? And the nightmare….she had been thrashing around?

Donna relaxed, laying back down on the bed.

She was going to have to pay a visit to Cardiff. This was just too bizarre, with all the missing dreams, and her loss of memory last night, to play around with.


End file.
